Conciliation Resources has teamed up with a group of non-governmental organisations to show our support for the Olympic Truce. With the sporting world's attention now focused on London for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we're backing a renewed international call for an end to violent conflict.

The Olympic Truce dates back to the origins of the Games in ancient Greece, which encouraged a peaceful environment for the safe passage and participation of athletes. At the United Nations last October, all 193 UN Member States signed up to its ideals of peace and conflict resolution: 

The Olympic and Paralympic Games break down barriers by bringing together people from all around the world and all walks of life… We give meaning to these values through the Olympic Truce, the call for warring parties everywhere to lay down their weapons during the Games. These pauses in fighting save lives. They help humanitarian workers reach people in need. And they open diplomatic space to negotiate lasting solutions.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General

We're pleased to see the peacebuilding goals we work for every day highlighted during such a prestigious global event as the Olympics. War shatters lives. It creates poverty and wastes billions every year. During the Games and beyond, we'll continue our work to promote understanding of peaceful ways to resolve conflicts. 

We are working in many contexts where the conflicts seem intractable, where there is no peace process, and limited prospects of political settlements... and yet we are not seeing hopelessness. Instead our partners are drawing on their own insights and ideas to define new paths to peace – citizens' paths – leading to an inclusive process of change.

Andy Carl, Conciliation Resources Executive Director

Conciliation Resources supports people at the heart of conflicts who are striving to find solutions. In line with this year's Truce, we promote good governance and local solutions to local problems. Working together, we can find peaceful alternatives to violence.
 
Interested to find out more about our peacebuilding work and the ethos of the Olympic Truce?